According to reports received by the Karun Human Rights Organization, Nazem Beraihi, an Ahwazi Arab political prisoner serving a life sentence, launched another hunger strike on Friday, December 12, 2025, while held in Ward 5 of Sheiban (Central) Prison in Ahvaz.
Boraihi announced his hunger strike in a letter addressed to Khosro Tarafi, head of Sheiban Prison, warning that he would set himself on fire if transferred to solitary confinement. In his letter, he stated that during his previous hunger strike—beginning on October 31, 2025, and lasting eight days—security and judicial authorities pressured him to end the strike by making false promises, including inclusion in an amnesty plan and sentence reduction, none of which have been fulfilled.
Following the hunger strike, on Saturday, December 13, Seyed Ali Fazeli, the prison’s internal director, along with several other officials, attempted to remove Boraihi from Ward 5. However, he refused, fearing transfer to solitary confinement. Karun sources report that Boraihi has been summoned multiple times by prison authorities on Saturday but has so far refused to leave his ward.
The Karun Human Rights Organization has condemned the actions of prison and security authorities, warning of an imminent threat to Boraihi’s life, and has called for urgent intervention by responsible authorities and the international community to save his life and address the situation of other Arab political prisoners in Ahvaz prisons.
Nazem Boraihi, a civil activist from Hamidiyeh, born in 1986, was arrested on September 10, 2005, along with six other civil activists. After seven months of interrogation and torture, he was sentenced to death on charges including “acting against national security,” “corruption on earth,” and “enmity against God.” The Supreme Court later overturned the death sentence and reduced it to life imprisonment.
Over more than 20 years of imprisonment, Boraihi has been denied all furloughs. In his letters, he has repeatedly reported severe health problems, including kidney disease, fungal skin infections, joint inflammation, and chronic pain. He has stated that continued neglect by prison authorities forced him to resume his hunger strike and has called for immediate action regarding his condition.
